Finger Lakes Railway

The Finger Lakes Railway is predominantly a freight company, and works to serve its customers and haul goods in a quick and professional manner. FGLK handles about 18,000 cars of freight each year.[4] It handles a large variety of goods serving the local agricultural and manufacturing industries. The main cargo includes plastic, canned food, clay, grain, lumber and paper products, scrap steel, chemical substances, finished steel, salt, sand, soda ash, paper, potash, fertilizer, beer, phosphorus fertilizer, telephone poles and aluminum ingots.

Finger Lakes Railway is a vital connection for the industries in the area, with its interchanges with the Class I railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern, with connections to Canadian Pacific via Norfolk Southern. The goods that FGLK removes or delivers to the manufacturers are often shipped across the country, with FGLK-owned rail cars spotted in Indiana, Michigan,[5] Kentucky,[6] New Jersey, Maine, Ontario, British Columbia Canada [7] and California.[8]

The FGLK once operated a passenger excursion service, The Finger Lakes Scenic Railway, as a heritage railroad. Operations began in October, 2001 with four coaches having been purchased second-hand from Via Rail in late 1999. The cars arrived in the winter of 1999 after the seats were replaced. Operation of the excursions ended in mid-2013.

When the excursions were being run, they included both general scenic and also seasonally-themed trips.[2][9]

The following information is about the rolling stock used when the excursion trips were being offered. The information was taken from FGLK's then-satellite Finger Lakes Scenic Railway website. This website is no longer online; however, the URL is in the hands of advertisers.[1] The link to it has been left in the references section should it ever return and again be accessible on the web as it was originally purposed.

Two cars were upgraded by Via Rail and were equipped with electric heating, while the other 2 use steam heating. The two updated cars were repainted into the old New York Central two-tone Gray colors and were named "Canandaigua" and "Cayuga". The other two cars, named "Geneva" and "Seneca", we're repainted in the same scheme, and were in storage awaiting upgrades to electric heating. In 2008, FGLK restored the Seneca car back into service, doing a much-needed partial interior renewal. The sound system was extended into this car as well, making the passengers feel much more included. Currently, the Geneva car sits on a siding along Routes 5&20. Although it is not used for passengers, it does serve as advertising for the railroad to passing cars and pedestrians strolling along the lake. Although FGLK would like to put this car into service, it does need a lot of work, including replacing many of the windows in the car. The three grey coaches are referred to by the staff collectively as "The Greys". In 2009, ceiling fans were installed in all of the coaches in order to better circulate the air.

A full baggage car joined the fleet in late 2005, with possible plans to be rebuilt into an open-air observation car. In 2007, FGLK purchased two antique passenger coaches (Ex Norfolk & Western coaches built circa-1916). These coaches did not have names, but were numbered #1642 (Table Car) and #1643 (Coach). Finger Lakes Railway honored the heritage of the Lehigh Valley Railroad with these cars by painting them into a maroon color with yellow accents and gold lettering. The staff calls these cars "The Reds".

The passenger cars were usually operated in two sets, with The Reds operating on the rockier track in Watkins Glen and The Greys running across the state on the northern tracks. The Reds have 6 axles per car, causing them to ride better by spreading out the load over more track at once.[10]

• 2 EMD GP9s: 1701(O.O.S), 1703 was brought back to life by the great guys in the shop over in Geneva in July, 2020, and is currently only used for yard work.
• 2 GE U23B: 2201 (Ex Providence & Worcester Railroad #2211) and 2820 (ex-Conway Scenic #2009).
• 11 GE B23-7s: 1943 (ex-Conway Scenic, ex-CR), 1989 (ex-Conrail), 2300 (ex-NYS&W, ex-P&W, recently brought back to life 2301 (ex-CR 1979), 2303 (ex-CR 2004), 2305 (ex-Norfolk Southern); 2306 & 2307 (ex-Providence & Worcester Railroad). FGLK also added unit 2308, from the Camas Prairie Railroad. The original build was a high-hood model for the Southern Railway, as #4008. In mid June, 2010, FGLK B23-7's 2309 & 2310 joined the fleet. Both are ex-Ohio Central, ex-BNSF, ex-ATSF. 2309 and 2310 were painted into the FGLK lightning stripe scheme in 2010 and 2012.
• 4 rebuilt EMD GP38-2s: FGLK 2001,2003, 2004 and 2005, all painted in the FGLK lightning-stripe scheme. 2001 and 2003 were purchased from GATX in May, 2017. 2004 was also purchased from GATX, and arrived in late 2018.
• 1 rebuilt GMD GP40: FGLK 2002, painted in FGLK lightning-stripe scheme. Purchased from GATX in May, 2017.

B23-7 #1989 is painted in Conrail blue with its original CR number; no repaint or renumber has been set as of this time. U23B #2201 is painted in a Lehigh Valley Railroad-inspired scheme of Cornell red with black pinstripes. All the other units are painted in the FGLK lightning-stripe scheme, based on an old New York Central scheme. As of July, 2020 the 2306 was painted all-black. The 2307(O.O.S) still has the livery of its previous owner, the P&W. 2308 (ex-Camas Prairie Railroad #17) was painted yellow and dark blue (unit was repainted in 2015). Ex-Conway Scenic B23-7's 1943 and 2820 arrived on the property on 1/6/2011. 1943 was put into service in February, 2012, while 2820 will be used as a parts source.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Finger Lakes Railway.

• Finger Lakes Railway (Official Website)
• a railfan website
• All-time FGLK roster.